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Arts & Entertainment

Lights, Camera, Art! Mayor's Art Challenge Showcases Arts in Melrose

Advocates and MMTV come together to help Mayor Rob Dolan make"Arts Challenge" video.

Move over Ben Affleck, there's a new star in town.

Riding around the city a few weeks ago, you may have noticed Mayor Rob Dolan in front of cameras with a small entourage in tow.  It's all part of the "Mayor's Art Challenge"—a concept created by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).

MCC Communication Director Greg Liakos said the idea was to challenge mayors across the Commonwealth to come up with a two-to-three minute video showcasing the arts in their communities.

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"Not only just as a showcase, but to also show how arts and culture help make their community a better place to live, work and visit," Liakos said.

Communities have until Oct. 1 to upload their videos onto YouTube. Viewers will then be able to vote for their favorite entries, which will be shown not only at the State House for the MCC's Commonwealth Awards in January, but also to a national audience at the Advocates for the Arts annual presentation to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

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With the help of Dolan, who is the president of the Massachusetts Mayors' Association, the state was able to spread the word about the new initiative this past spring through a press release and at the Association's monthly meeting.

"These videos will be a wonderful way for mayors to promote their local art scene," Dolan said.

Arts volunteers step forward

That press release caught the eye of two Melrose residents whose enthusiasm for the arts is well known in the Melrose arts community—Debra Corbett and Jennifer LeClerc.

LeClerc is a member of the Melrose Arts and Cultural Association (MACA) and a freelance arts marketer who has a strong belief in the collaboration of local arts organizations, civic leaders and the business community.

"When I saw the press release, I just knew I couldn't not be involved," LeClerc said.

Through a series of meetings, LeClerc and Corbett brought together the mayor, Mike Miner from MMTV and Jim Wilson, chair of the Melrose Cultural Council, the local arm of the MCC.

"We really wanted to make sure this video highlighted what a vibrant and robust arts community Melrose really is," LeClerc said.

LeClerc then developed a rough outline and script for Dolan to shoot at various locations around the city, including Memorial Hall, The Beebe Estate and the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School auditorium.

Professional artist and fellow MACA member Debra Corbett helped to coordinate the shoot as well.

"I knew I wanted to jump on board with the project." Corbett said.  "Anything that I can do to help the arts community is worth the time."

Corbett has been on the receiving end of a few MCC state funded grants and also wanted to make sure the importance of public funding was not lost in the message.

"Some people are not even aware of the Melrose Cultural Council," Corbett said, "and public funding really helps so many artists and organizations in the city."

Discovering the arts in Melrose

Corbett admitted that—even being so connected to the arts scene in Melrose—she was actually a little taken aback when she saw the outline of the script.

"I didn't even realize all the different things that are offered here to so many different age groups." Corbett said. "I think when people see this video they will be really surprised as well."

Corbett said it really does speak volumes about the city.

"Art creates a unique experience that is hard to measure," Corbett said. "Attending the Jazz Fest, a play at the Middle School, or strolling down Main Street to see art in window settings, all provide a springboard for our imagination. The arts help Melrose be a more interesting place to live."

LeClerc said the variety in opportunities is also something she wanted to make sure was highlighted in the video, as well as the importance of arts education both in and out of the classroom. LeClerc points to The Creative Challenge Index law recently signed by Gov. Deval Patrick. The legislation will create a new system to measure the extent to which schools offer students opportunities to engage in creative work.

"I think it's really importance to recognize that these are some of the things the city is doing really well," LeClerc stressed. "It really is a win-win when civic leaders and businesses understand the importance of art and the creative process when it comes to problem solving for future generations."

With the location shots of the video done, LeClerc said the next process will be to meet with the mayor to tweak the script, add additional footage of the many arts related activities offered in Melrose, and to get everything edited in time for the Oct. 1 deadline. LeClerc and MMTV's Mike Miner hope to get the video completed before then in order to have a showing with the Mayor and others sometime in late September.

Look for additional information on the video in coming weeks and on www.youtube.com/mayorartschallenge.

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